Why is there an increased rate of people dealing with depression…
If you have tried to engage a therapist any time in the past few years, you know how hard it is to find one whose patient list isn’t already overloaded. And the situation seems to worsen by the day, with increasing reports of people struggling with depression and anxiety. Read on to find out what some of our mental health proponents think are some of the leading causes for the escalation.
Taylor Draughn
Aftermath Of Pandemic
In the aftermath of the pandemic, many people are left struggling with depression and anxiety. The stress of the pandemic has caused an increase in people dealing with these issues. There are several reasons for this:
The first reason is that the pandemic was so unpredictable. It came out of nowhere and caused a lot of fear and uncertainty. It caused a lot of change and even loss – from jobs to loved ones, which led to such intense struggles. Grief can be incredibly overwhelming and can quickly lead to depression and anxiety.
The second possible reason is that people were isolated during the pandemic. With so much fear of being infected, people stayed inside and avoided contact with others.
It was easy to feel lonely or stressed while in quarantine. While being alone, people often found themselves constantly worrying about the well-being of their loved ones or themselves and what to do if they get infected. All of these factors can lead to increased anxiety and depression.
Lastly, there was and is so much uncertainty about the future. People didn’t know if the pandemic would end soon or if it would get worse. Now that things are slowly going back to normal, a lot of people still have to start from scratch; some haven’t even recovered from the downfalls they experienced during the first wave of the virus. It’s no surprise why a lot of people are anxious and worried about what’s next for them.
Loss of Loved Ones or Livelihood
As life slowly returns to normal after the outbreak of COVID-19, many people are having to pick up the pieces from the financial drain that came with the pandemic. Many people lost their jobs, many struggled to cope with the confinement due to lockdown regulations, and the hardest blow is that many lost family members to COVID-19.
The last couple of years have been challenging for people in different ways. Although we may rejoice that life is returning to normal (pre-pandemic), for many, it feels like starting again from scratch. How do you mend the financial loss that many households and businesses face? How to restore the peace that once was? How do you bring back family members that have departed?
Grief and livelihood are two things of a person’s journey that have the greatest impact on their mental health — how much more if both these factors are drastically affected within a short period.
Industries like the entertainment and sports industry have experienced the most public display of loss with some committing suicide or dying from illness. The former has become the most publicized and common trend within these industries.
One of the reasons for this is that these industries have taken a big hit since the inception of the pandemic — fewer people were going to cinemas or concerts (or they were closed), fewer spectators at sports events (or closed televised games). And the reason why these industries experienced such a loss is that public events are their biggest source of financial influx.
Ultimately, the impact of mental health is warranted as many individuals are just starting to find their footing, while others just don’t see a way through, leading to an increase in depression and anxiety cases.
Andréas RB Deolinda
Leslie Radka
Media Overload, Poor Sleep, Increased Mental Health Awareness
Excessive use of media
Today people have lost the human touch that existed in the past when people would meet over coffee, share their life issues, and relieve each other’s burdens. Instead, people today are lost in social media, which sometimes steals away the joy of simple living. As a result, the more people are getting lost in the media, and the more they are becoming depressed.
Poor sleeping habits
The demands of life are increasing by the day and people are forced to work for longer hours to meet their needs. Some have two to three jobs a day and what this means is that they are sleeping fewer hours. Given that they are not able to meet the number of hours the body and mind need to rest, they are becoming depressed by the day.
Increased awareness and reporting of mental health deficiencies
There is also the possibility that as people are becoming more and more aware of mental health problems, they are acknowledging and reporting those problems more than they used to do in the past. As a result, the number of depressions and anxiety being dealt with today seems higher.
Increased Stress or Genetic Disposition
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the root causes of depression and anxiety can be quite different from person to person. However, some of the most common reasons for an increase in cases of depression and anxiety include stress from work or school, relationship problems, financial difficulties, and health problems.
Many people also find that their symptoms get worse during times of change or upheaval, such as after a move, a job change, or the death of a loved one. And finally, it’s worth noting that some people are simply more prone to depression and anxiety than others due to genetics or other factors.
Sam Cohen
John Tian
Societal Pressures
Nowadays, most people have been subjected to societal pressure from parents and their peers. When a person has less money, they are viewed as a lesser person in a conversation, and those with cash are burdened with others’ responsibilities. This pressure has created an unhealthy competition for monetary things, generally leading to increased depression. As a result, most people are anxious and hoping that each day may bring total transition, which mostly isn’t the case; therefore, they remain depressed.
This is a crowdsourced article. Contributors' statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this website, other people, businesses, or other contributors.